STAYING HOME
Sports information director Kuchta named athletic director at Prairie State
When Chris Kuchta began planning his career path, he knew hewanted to be involved in sports. Becoming a college athletic director, however, never crossed his mind.
“At first, I wanted to go into broadcasting,” he said. “I wanted to be the next Joe Buck or something like that. Then I got into newspapers, and that was great. I thought I’d always be in writing in some capacity.
“I took the (sports information director) job at Prairie State and loved that — thought I’d be an SID forever. I never thought I’d have a job like the one I have now.”
After eight years as the sports information director at Prairie State, Kuchta was named the athletic director of the Chicago Heights junior college on Sept. 1.
Kuchta, a 39-year-old Chicago native, St. Rita graduate and former freelance sports reporter for theDaily Southtown, replaces former Bears defensive lineman Chris Zorich.
Zorich had served as Prairie State’s athletic director since 2015 before taking the same role inMay at Chicago State.
“I’m extremely excited for this opportunity and forwhere I knowwe can go as a program,” Kuchta said. “I think it’s a matter of when, rather than if, in terms of us making some big noise on a national stage.
“Men’s tennis has placed at the (NJCAA) national tournament recently. Softball was an out away from the NJCAAWorld Series this spring. Basketball has great potential in this area with all the talent in the south suburbs. I really think our best days are ahead of us.”
WhenKuchta came to Prairie State in 2010, his rolewas confined to traditional SID duties, such as writing news releases, compiling stats and handling media requests.
As time went on, however, he found himself more integrated with the daily activities of the entire athletic department.
“I started to see all the different aspects of the AD job and started to participate in different parts of it,” he said. “I started to think I could possibly do that. Then as time went on, I was confident I could definitely do it and thought I’d probably be really good at it.”
Kuchta said he feels he and Prairie State are a good match.
“It all depends onwhere you fit in,” he said. “If you’reanADat aNCAADivision I school, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’d do the job well at a junior college, and vice versa. I’m a good fit here.”
One of Kuchta’s biggest long-term goals is improving Prairie State’s athletic facilities. In the short term, he knows there will be plenty to keep him busy.
“Every day, there’s a new challenge,” he said. “I’m seeing that already. There’s an eligibility issue to work out or an athlete you want to make sure gets to class. There are many different roles you have to take onasAD, and I’m excited for the challenge.”
SteveMillar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.